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Impeachment Looms for South Korean President Park

If two-thirds of the National Assembly votes to impeach embattled leader on Friday, she would hand over power to the prime minister

South Korean legislators are set to vote on whether to impeach President Park Gyeun-hye. Whatever the outcome, the political drama besieging the nation is far from over. The Wall Street Journal explains. Photo: Reuters

SEOUL—South Korean President Park Geun-hye is widely expected to be impeached by lawmakers on Friday amid the country’s biggest political scandal in a generation, raising the prospect of early elections in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The 300-member National Assembly’s 171 opposition and independent lawmakers are all expected to vote for impeachment at a plenary session. Some political analysts said they expect them to be joined by at least 29 members of Ms. Park’s ruling party after its leaders said that they would...